Category Archives: Anxiety

When someone gives you news that you don’t want to hear such as their serious medical diagnosis, the passing of someone you love, news of a close friend or family member moving far away, or of a marriage ending, it’s difficult to process the initial thoughts and feelings.

An audible gasp, followed by murmuring and furrowed brows swept across the room where the disciples were finishing the Passover meal after Jesus told them that He will be going away soon.

I remember when Kim and I told my family and friends that our family was moving 1,500 miles away, to Maine in order to plant a church; their reactions were understandable. The proverbial shoe had long ago been “put on the other foot” when at least three of my siblings had left to live in different parts of the United States. I totally understood what I felt in those moments when I found out, (one of them only left me a note to tell me they were leaving); I had no difficulty empathizing as they expressed their feelings.

The gravity of the situation around the Passover Meal in John 13 and 14 is intensified by Jesus’ command for the disciples to love each other in the same way (or capacity) which He has loved them.

It reminds me of how we would beg our kids “love each other, treat each other like you love each other, be good to each other” just before we would go on a date.

He tells them that if they love each other people will know that they are His disciples. Certainly, the disciples must have thought “yes, but… if you’re around, they will know that we’re your disciples… wait…what’s going on here?!”

These men had abandoned everything, they were part of a movement which stood in direct opposition to the established religion, left their families and their occupations, stood beside Jesus as He made some pretty incredible claims (most of which they didn’t understand at first); even if they wanted to, they would never be accepted back into society again.

The panic and anxiety in the room was reaching a fervor as the loving Master offered these words to His friends,

“Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in Me.” John 14:1 ESV

First, Jesus addresses their feelings of panic and their anxiety by telling them to calm down and choose to not LET their hearts be troubled or stressed out. In our moments of anxiety we need to recognize that ultimately, we have a choice.

Then, Jesus points back to the Father and commands them as if saying, “No matter what, always believe in God – trust in God, don’t let anything sway your faith in God.” This isn’t a suggestion on how to get through this, it’s a command. Believe in God – this is absolute foundational truth for us to get to the next step. If you can believe in God then you can believe in Jesus, whom God sent.

Finally, He follows up by telling them to take that same unshakeable faith and apply it to Him. He’s not asking them to believe in some ethereal concept or ideology – He’s asking them to believe IN Him.

My precious wife and children have had some pretty big favors asked of them by me; many times I’ve required them to “believe in me” as we made some major life decisions over the years.

One of the greatest compliments I’ve ever received has been my wife telling me that she believes in me. I know that she believes in my ability to make decisions, trusts that I have her’s and my family’s best interests in mind, and she believes that I know how to hear from God.

It’s important that we understand that Jesus isn’t asking us to simply acknowledge some new information or to assent to some new philosophy; He is asking us to believe IN Him. Jewish people understood what it meant to believe in God (they had that under control) but believing in Jesus in the same way was a new thing.

I would argue that it’s a new thing for some Christians.

Jesus isn’t asking us to simply acknowledge some new information or to assent to some new philosophy; He is asking us to believe IN Him.

We may throw the dice,but the Lord determines how they fall. Proverbs 16:33 NLT

Perhaps you’ve seen these phrases before;

or maybe this one…

I’m fully aware that there are a great number of people who not only subscribe to this philosophy but live their lives with these statements as “life-declarations”.

How frustrating it must be when you self-declare that you are in charge only to find that life doesn’t work that way.

In the book of Proverbs in the Old Testament portion of the Bible we find the verse at the beginning of this blog. “We may throw the dice,but the Lord determines how they fall.” Clearly, some may find this verse absolutely infuriating; I’ve found that people are ultimately divided into two camps.

In camp one we find people who read a verse like that and feel like a child upset with a parent not giving them the control or authority they feel they deserve.

This is part of the original lie Satan gave Adam and Eve in the garden – you need to be just like God – you need to know what He knows, and God is holding something back from us. If we haven’t learned what we needed from that lesson I will explain it briefly; No, we don’t need to know what God knows, nor do we need to be just like God, and NO, God isn’t holding anything good from us.

And in camp two we find people who understand that God isn’t trying to control us so that He can lord over us with nefarious and malicious intentions; instead these people in camp two understand that a loving Father is guiding our steps through this life. As we learn to trust Him more and more we recognize His love and grace through the most difficult times in life.

So the challenge for you today is this – which camp do you find yourself? Are you ever vying for control and authority, ever frustrated that no matter what you can’t seem to find control or authority?

Are you settled with God guiding your steps? Isn’t it sweet of God to let us roll the dice?

We change our minds and turn our backs on people with nearly no regard for consequences.

We will lie to people we love to keep from being discovered, gain more favor, or make them feel better about a situation.

I realize that this is hardly breaking news, not only have we all experienced someone else treating us this way, but we’ve all been the one who has treated others this way. After years of use and abuse of these attributes, we’ve learned not to fully trust anyone because ANYONE is capable of hurting us, and we are capable of hurting others as well.

We begin to see life through the unfocused lense of doubt and mistrust; this is perfectly understandable, even defensible, behavior given how we humans tend to treat each other.

Trouble ensues, however when we think of God as a human; we engage in personification, treating something which isn’t human like it is human. We see this when someone dresses up their dog and uses little baby voices and speaking on behalf of the dog. “Ohhh…. I’m so glad to see you mommy!”

Why is this an issue? Because God is not human, in fact He is a spirit. This changes everything – we cannot attribute our experiences, failures, and behaviors on Him when He isn’t anything like us! Look at what scripture says about Him.

God is not a man, so he does not lie.He is not human, so he does not change his mind.Has he ever spoken and failed to act?Has he ever promised and not carried it through? Numbers 23:19 NLT

Just as we have attributes which cause us to change our minds, lie, and betray others – God’s attributes cause Him to love, cause Him to illuminate, and cause Him to tell the truth. He doesn’t just tell the truth, He IS the truth! He doesn’t simply have attributes – HE IS THE ATTRIBUTE!

Regardless how many PEOPLE have lied to you, how many PEOPLE have changed their minds, when God tells you He loves and that He will never leave you – He isn’t human, He doesn’t change His mind, nor does He lie!

You are loved… you are unconditionally loved… and as a follower of Jesus, you are locked into a love relatioship with God, a spirit, who will never change His mind about you!

Any promises God has made concerning you, will always and forever be true!

Fact #1: if you tank up on energy drinks all day, you will have difficulty sleeping well.

Fact #2: if you surround yourself with those who enjoy creating drama, your life will be filled with anxiety and stress.

These facts aren’t difficult to believe or understand because we understand this simple premise; that which we seed into our lives creates or produces fruit (even if it’s a bad fruit.) Honestly, we don’t want bad sleep or anxiety-ridden lives but we often do those things which creates this nonsense for us.

Although, you could take a Facebook sabbatical or even delete your account, you could live like a hermit…

It’s a different kind of hermit but he’s cute!

… you could even sleep as well as ol’ Rip Van Winkle and STILL not have any peace!

The Bible tells us in Job 3:26,

I have no peace, no quietness. I have no rest; only trouble comes. Job 3:26 NLT

The reality is that unless we spend time with the One who creates or produces peace in us we will not know peace. Remember the simple premise? That which we seed into our lives creates or produces fruit. What are you seeding into your life?

Resolving the conflicts in our soul isn’t as easy as just getting rid of the stressors (although it’s a good start) it’s also about replacing those things, or filling the void with those things which are healthy and helpful. Peace isn’t simply the absence of stress or the ability to rest, it’s a gift from the God who is known as Jehovah Shalom (The Lord IS our Peace). Peace is the fruit of time spent with the maker or Creator of Peace.

THE CHALLENGE:

If you’ve been struggling like our friend Job, if you feel like there is no peace, no quietness, or rest, may I reccomend spending time, cultivating, seeding time with the One who creates peace in us?

Take some time today and rest in His presence, worship Him and find that peace and quiet, the rest and freedom was waiting for you all along.